Apple has been fighting antitrust regulators across the globe, and it’s about to lose yet another battle in the US after trying to make commissions from purchases made on third-party payment platforms. But in the latest regulatory filing from Apple itself, the company admits that it may no longer be able to do so.
The EU Commission was the first to force Apple to allow third-party app stores on its platform since the company’s official App Store charges a 30% commission on each purchase, including in-app purchases. This way, creators can’t distribute their content anywhere else and are forced to pay the high commission rate. The same happened in Japan and Brazil.
However, the US court had a different approach. Instead of allowing third-party app stores, Apple had to allow developers to offer in-app purchases and subscriptions through alternative payment platforms. And yet, Apple still charged about a 27% commission on apps from third-party app stores and in-app purchases, in addition to the 3% payment processing fees. So effectively, there’s no change in the way Apple processes payments.
The US judge noticed that and said it’s a clear abuse of the ruling. The Cupertino-based company argued that the court didn’t specify acceptable commission rates, though. Still, Apple offered lower commission rates – 15% for standard apps, but with a 30% in-app purchasing fee; 10% for the Video Partner Program, News Partner Program and Mini Apps Partner Program, along with subscription renewals; and 5% for Small Business Program apps.
Despite Apple’s attempt to extract some cash from the third-party platforms in the US, the tech giant admits that it will probably end up with nothing at all. People familiar with the matter say Apple’s Services revenue will likely see a sharp decline over the next few quarters, which will be the first time. It will likely affect Apple’s valuation, too.